Mesolithic Sites and Surveys in Greece: A Case Study from the Southern Argolid

Abstract

Regional surveys in Greece have only rarely identified Mesolithic sites, which consist typically of small, unobtrusive scatters of microlithic artifacts. Recently, a site location model was used along with targeted surveys to identify Mesolithic sites in the Argolid, Epirus, and the Sporades, and the results suggest that the Mesolithic may have been overlooked in some early surveys because, in part, the characteristic features of Mesolithic assemblages were unknown at the time. Using lithic assemblages from published sites as a guide, a re-study of lithics from a regional survey in the Southern Argolid (1979–83) was undertaken to determine if some small undated lithic sites from that survey were Mesolithic. Seven probable Mesolithic sites were identified, and the spatial distribution of the sites suggests that a logistical land-use foraging strategy was used in the Argolid during the Mesolithic.